Facing the Fear of Failure
March 9, 2020 • Laura N. Sweet • 1 Kings 3:4–14, 1 John 1:9—2:2
"What are you afraid of?” . Ask ten different people, and you are likely to get ten different answers! Our fears are very personal to us, depending on our past experiences. Still, one of the most common fears is the fear of failure. . In the Bible, Solomon also feared failure. He was called to follow in the footsteps of Israel’s greatest king, his father David. It was a daunting task, and Solomon felt inadequate and unprepared. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream, this is what the young king prayed: “Give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:9). . Solomon feared failure! He knew he needed God’s help, so he asked for a wise and discerning heart. Solomon’s prayer pleased God so much He gave Solomon not only wisdom but riches and honor as well. . Like Solomon, when we fear failure, we are invited to call out to God: “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). . Knowing God will give you wisdom for whatever He asks you to do is the way to combat a fear of failure! You’re going to fail sometimes—even Solomon failed big time (1 Kings 11:1-13). But, if you know Jesus, you are secure in Him; He lived a perfect life and has covered all your failures (1 John 1:9–2:2). Lean on Him, the true source of wisdom (Colossians 3:16). • Laura N. Sweet . • Do you have a fear of failure? How does knowing you are secure in Christ affect that fear? . • In your own life, what are some situations where you need wisdom? Have you talked to Jesus about these situations? . • One of the ways God gives wisdom to His people is through wise counsel from other Christians (Proverbs 11:14; Galatians 6:1-2). Who is a trustworthy Christian you can talk with about questions you have? . Give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours? 1 Kings 3:9 (CSB)
Jesus Always Heals
January 6, 2020 • Taylor Eising • 1 Kings 19:3–8, Matthew 9:20–22, Revelation 21:4, Psalm 41:3
Pain and illness are terrible results of the fall, which is when sin and death entered the world. Whenever we or someone we know is affected by an illness, God wants us to pray for healing in faith that He will heal all believers in one of three ways: natural healing, supernatural healing, or ultimate healing when Jesus comes back. Jesus, who is God, is at work in all three types of healing, and we see examples of each type in the Bible. . In today’s first Bible passage, Elijah is suffering from utter exhaustion to the point of having suicidal thoughts. In this case, God uses natural means to solve his ailment: sleep and food. Unfortunately, not all illnesses can be cured by a snack and a nap (but they certainly never hurt!). God also uses doctors, counselors, and modern medicine to bring about incredible healing using natural means. When you pray for natural healing, thank God for the gifts He has given to the people administering treatment and pray for wisdom in forming a treatment plan. . Jesus uses supernatural healing in today’s second passage; He heals the woman with no medical intervention. God uses this supernatural healing several times throughout the Bible with the end goal of guiding someone to trust in Him. He heals in this way to deepen our faith—to show He is undeniably in control. When you pray for supernatural healing, do so with bold faith, knowing God is certainly capable of healing in inexplicable ways and He is at work whether supernaturally healing that person is His plan or not. . Lastly, Jesus will heal all believers when He returns to make all things new and resurrects us from the dead. As Christians, we might not experience full healing now, but we will someday have perfectly healthy bodies, minds, and souls through the power and promise of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Until that day, never stop bringing your pains and illnesses to Him in prayer. He knows your suffering and will destroy sin and the brokenness it causes (Romans 8:19-24; Hebrews 4:14-16). • Taylor Eising . • Have you ever seen natural or supernatural healing? What was that like for you or the person being healed? . • Why does Jesus care about our health? . • Why can we always have hope in Jesus, even when we are surrounded by pain and illness? . • The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health. Psalm 41:3 (NLT)
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What Are You Thinking?
November 9, 2019 • Robyn Mulder • 1 Kings 3:5–12, 2 Corinthians 10:5
God did an amazing job when He created humans. Our brains alone are made up of about 100 billion nerves that communicate in 100 trillion connections, controlling all of the systems in our bodies and allowing us to communicate, think, and reason. . But, because our world is broken by sin and death, sometimes our brains give us the farthest thing from wisdom. Our thoughts run wild—often with lies about who we are—influencing our feelings and actions. . For example, let’s say you enter a room. Everyone looks at you, then goes back to what they were doing. Wild, lying thoughts might go like this: “Everyone just looked at me. Nobody came over to talk to me. They probably hate me. I should just go home.” Then you might go stand in the corner because you think you don’t belong. . If you can capture those negative thoughts, you might be able to see the situation like this: “They all looked at me, but nobody talked to me. They might be just as nervous as I am. But Jesus loves me, and He loves everyone in this room. That table only has two people. I’ll see if I can join them.” Instead of standing in the corner, you choose to participate by showing Christ’s love to others. . But how can we change our wild thoughts? We can’t. We need God’s strength and wisdom, found in knowing Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:2-3). In 1 Kings 3, Solomon asked the Lord to give him wisdom, and God was pleased. He’s pleased to give us wisdom too (James 1:5). . God will greatly increase our wisdom when we read His Word, the Bible, because it shows us who we are in relationship to Him, our Creator. It tells us the good news of how Jesus can give us freedom from sin and death—and how that wonderful truth affects every area of our lives. . Capturing your thoughts to obey Christ can help you over and over as you go through life. Tell yourself truth from God’s Word instead of letting your wild thoughts push you around. • Robyn Mulder . • Step 1: Take out a piece of paper and try writing all of your thoughts down for five minutes or so. Read over them and see which ones line up with God’s Word and which ones are just wild, lying thoughts. . • Step 2: Below what you have just written, take each wild thought and rewrite it as a Christ-captured thought. . We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)
Get Some Rest
November 5, 2019 • Alexis Wohler • Matthew 11:28, Genesis 2:2, 1 Kings 19:1–8
"There will be a test over the material later this week,” Ashley heard the professor say as her class ended. "Will I even have time to study for that test?" she wondered. . She was taking college classes while in high school and working part-time to pay for them. Just as she felt the stress close in on her, her friend Ryan caught up with her in the hallway. “Ashley, wait up. I’ll walk you to your next class,” he offered. . Ashley tried not to show how stressed she was, but Ryan figured it out. “You’re working all week. You don’t think you’ll have time to study for this test, do you?” . When Ashley nodded, Ryan asked, “How about we get coffee after school and quiz each other on the material?” . “Count me in,” said Ashley. . Later that afternoon, Ryan quizzed Ashley at the coffee shop. But her eyes kept closing. . “History records dictate that... Ashley is asleep from exhaustion,” Ryan said, laughing lightly as he touched her arm to wake her up. . “Huh... What? Did I seriously fall asleep? Sorry about that.” . Ryan finally asked her what was wrong. Ashley admitted she was having trouble keeping up with the demands of classes and said she had no one to lean on. . “You’ve got me, Ash. I’m always here for you. If you really need rest, go to sleep early tonight. God can give you rest too, like it says in Matthew 11:28.” . As Ashley studied later that night, Ryan’s kind words and the verse he had mentioned kept coming back to her: “Come to me, all of you who are weary... and I will give you rest.” . She let the words sink in, praying, "Lord, if I’m going to pass this test, I need rest. Please fill me with Your peace." As she finished praying, she felt calmer. She closed her books and finally got some sleep. • Alexis Wohler . • Sometimes it feels like everything in the world depends on us. How does it bring you peace knowing that your life depends on Jesus, not you? . • God created us to need rest, which is why He gave us the Sabbath. What are some ways you can practice intentional rest in your own life? . • Who can you talk to when you feel overwhelmed and exhausted? . Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT)